Bowl game a heady experience for Baylor’s McCall

LeQuince McCall admitted to some frustration earlier this year. He had come up short in a battle for the starter’s job at nickel back on the Baylor football team.

But McCall, a third-year sophomore from Reagan, said he’s happy at Baylor and excited about the opportunity to play for the Bears in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

As the game with Washington approaches Thursday, the feeling of excitement for McCall borders on sort of a light-headed euphoria.

“It’s like there’s no air here,” McCall said after Tuesday’s practice. “The air’s thinner. With the presence of my high school coaches and my parents, it just feels a lot better to be at home.”

On the afternoon of Dec. 4, when Baylor accepted the Alamo Bowl invitation, McCall let loose with a yelp.

“I probably screamed as loud as I did when Robert (Griffin) won the Heisman,” he said.

McCall said his parents moved to McKinney a few years ago. His grandmother lives in Hunt, in the Hill Country.

But, as he said, “all in all, the McCall family is happy to be around San Antonio.”

McCall made a name for himself in San Antonio as an all-district safety at Reagan in 2008.

At Baylor, he moved to linebacker. McCall redshirted in 2009 and then played most of the past two seasons on special teams.

When Phil Bennett took over as defensive coordinator, McCall was on the move again — to nickel back.

He worked at the hybrid linebacker position in the spring and then contended for the playing rotation in the summer.

McCall didn’t quite get there.

“Yeah it’s pretty frustrating,” he said. “But it’s a team game. There’s no ‘I’ in team, and coach (Art) Briles along with coach (Phil) Bennett preach on that every day.

“Coach also preaches that on special teams or scout team, everyone plays their role. Everyone plays a role in whether we win or lose. It’s just a good feeling more when we win.”

When the Bears (9-3) take on the Huskies (7-5) Thursday night, McCall will play on kickoff and punt coverage and punt return units.

Bennett said McCall has enjoyed a solid season.

“He’s got a chance to be a good player,” Bennett said. “He’s going to develop. He’s been a stalwart on our special teams and has had a very productive year.”

McCall said he thinks his time to play defense is coming.

“I try to show (the coaches) every day in practice (that I can play),” said McCall, who picked off a pass earlier this season against Iowa State. “I try to minimize mistakes, if I make any at all.

“And, other than putting it in Coach Briles hands, I also put it in the Lord’s hands. I know he has a plan.”

McCall said he loves to play in the Baylor program, where he said Briles treats scout team players the same way he treats starters.

He said he also likes being a part of a program on the rise nationally.

“We know, we have the type of athletes to compete with the other universities in the Big 12 and in the country,” McCall said. “When we come out to play we have one goal to get our respect, and that’s to get the win.

“If we play Alabama, Texas or (Texas) A&M, we just want to get the win and get the respect that we deserve and we want.”